Rana closed the expedition log and returned it into her jacket. Its usefulness had run its course and she very much doubted it would be able to provide any suitable information for future challenges. The Aodh expeditions all ended when the winds started carrying the ashes into the pathways, so it was not difficult to deduce that the sudden gust that triggered in the upper levels caused many team wipes.

It was honestly not surprising. The Tree of Ashen Falls was unlike many dungeons where a raid team conquer rooms, overcome obstacles, and defeat guardian monsters as they make their way to the core. The tower of vines had no rooms or paths, only gaps in its gargantuan structure for a person to make use of when climbing to the top. If a party were to encounter the sudden raging gust without any foreknowledge while climbing the Dungeon, one single mistake could result in them plunging downwards.

Rana knew that if she were alone, the moment she saw the Dungeon she would’ve backed out. It was not something she could conquer by herself. The risk involved was too great. If not for her companion, she would’ve gone back, planned it out for months, and hired expendable help. She was also surprised how the Dungeon was not yet conquered. The monsters were not weak, but they were also less powerful than the norm. A team of ascended marked ones could make short work of the raid as long as they prepared accordingly. So why was the tree still standing?

The prizes within a core were immense, something worth every risk even if it meant starting a war, like the one Aodh was currently engaged in. There was little reason why there wasn’t any information on outsiders making an attempt at the Dungeon. There was nothing stopping a group of outlaw ascended marked ones from marching to the camp and start climbing the tree. From what Rana saw from the battles earlier, Aodh also did not have any notable marked ones to stop such a thing from happening. Her companion Alpheia was a testament to that.

There was something behind the scenes and it unsettled her. Dungeons were simple concepts. They were structures born out of hatred and regret. It spawned monsters and contained treasures. They were landscapes that existed as part of the world. Now, this one felt like a piece on a board.

She hoped she was not overthinking.

Rana and Alpheia were now at where the expeditions have failed. They survived the first challenge, but it was by the skin of their teeth and there was no guarantee they would be as fortunate and not encounter something they couldn’t handle in the future. It was a general rule that the closer it was to the core, the more dangerous it was to traverse a Dungeon. The rule seemed to stay true during their climb. If they were to survive and reach the top, they had to come up with a plan other than to do a crash landing and hope for the best.

The challenge itself was rather simple. The gust blew in the ash and it marked them for whatever traps and monsters that were hiding. However, knowing what was happening or how the challenge worked would not lower the difficulty, it only gave insight into how she would plan their approach. Rana and Alpheia would still need to make their climb up while being hounded by traps and monsters with nowhere to hide. Flying was also out of the question, as there were many dangers within the ash storm aside from the difficulty and effort needed to maintain steadiness while carrying another person.

The first and foremost were the cinder bombs. They were giant blocks of explosive stones wrapped in scorching fumes that descended from beyond the clouds. Whatever was within them that fuelled their flames were unruly and a person could never gauge the timing of their explosion. It was a big explosion, launching flames and shrapnel in every direction along with a shock wave of immense heat. The longer a marked one stayed in the ash storm, the more cinder bombs would be sent, and the more volatile they became. If Rana had more mana and much more destructive Spells, the aerial route did not sound like such a bad idea.

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However, aside from the Ash Fall debuff, there was one more thing to worry about when flying in the ash. Monsters would be buffed and their attacks were empowered. There were times when normal arrows gained the piercing capabilities as if shot from a ballista, or when slow and grounded drones would somehow take to the air as if they were swimming. The most dangerous monster they encountered was a beetle warrior that grew in size the longer it stayed in the ash. It eventually turned into a hulking warrior that Rana and Alpheia had no choice but to flee. Fortunately, even though its strength increased with its size, its intelligence did not. Once the monster stomped into an area with cover from the ashes, it shrunk and was easily dispatched.

This meant that there was only one way forward. They had to avoid the ash while climbing the steps. It was easier said than done, but not impossible. The Ash Burn damage-over-time effect did not depend on entering an area. It depended on making contact with the ash and being damaged by it, and the duration of the damage was the time it took for the ash to burn. The curious part of it was that the embers did not burn until they were reignited. There was a trigger, a source of the spark, and once she discovered it, getting past the path with gusts of wind would be possible. So what sparked the embers? Simple. The ash storm was a Spell. If it was a Spell, then it could also be resisted as a Spell. There was something she could do, something no other marked one could. Rana could resist mana induced death.

With the plan at hand, Rana and Alpheia set out.

Rana stood in the front with both her arms extended. She called upon the mana within her and began to generate a runic pattern outside her body. If she were human, the runic-pattern would latch onto the mage, damaging their nerves and killing the flesh. The intensity of the mana would increase with the complexity and strength of the pattern. In essence, the more advance the Spell, the stronger the recoil. However, even if her mark was too low level to register the Spell, she could still hold onto it until it killed her, and she was already dead.

“Let’s go,” Rana said through gritted teeth. She pushed forward, each step heavier than the last. The recoil did not damage her, but it was nonetheless a burden to her body, her mind. The more advance the Spell, the stronger the pattern and the more resistant it was to interference. The ashes touched the runic-pattern and burned away, reduced to nothing. However, each pelt burned was like being hit by a battering ram. It did not push her back, but it battered her mind. That was when she felt someone lifting her from behind.

“I’ll carry you,” Alpheia said. Rana was somewhat irked about being lifted like a child, but she did not complain. The two continued forward as Rana put in all her effort of maintaining the runes. She did not know how long the two trekked, but soon they were met with a veil of grey fog. They reached the clouds.

Within the mist, Rana did not feel any ashes and finally released her hold on the runes. They disappeared silently, like a mirage fading in the air. Who could’ve thought that it required such intensity to hold something with such a fragile appearance.

“You can let me down now,” Rana said. Alpheia plopped her onto the ground, but before Rana could discuss with her companion their next course of action, the air quaked and the earth roared, the echoes of its sundering cries exploded into silence.

Then, it happened.

The vines below began to push upwards, and like a platform, they began to rise. It was an arena, and Rana and Alpheia were sent to fight the guardian monster of the Dungeon.